Prior art won't solve the software patent problem (NewsForge)

Posted Sep 19, 2006 14:25 UTC (Tue) by PaulMcKenney (✭ supporter ✭, #9624)
In reply to: Prior art won't solve the software patent problem (NewsForge) by Wol
Parent article: Prior art won't solve the software patent problem (NewsForge)

Either legislative action or judicial precedent, but yes, I do agree that many problems with software patents do require long-term changes in the legal environment.

But that is no reason to refuse to work on the issues that -can- be solved in the current legal environment. Prior-art collection is one such issue. Yes, it is limited. No, it will not solve the whole software-patent problem. But it is something that can be done now.

As someone once said, "don't forget about the short term and mid term fights on our way to the grand finale, every patent defeated is one less the developers must concern themselves with..."

Paul E. McKenney (my thoughts, not necessarily those of my employer)